Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of science fiction short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

6880+ Science Fiction Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Whether you’re looking for daring space battles or chilling “what if” glimpses of the future, you’ll find what you’re looking for in our collection of free science fiction short stories.

🏆 Winning stories

⭐️ Recommended stories

Introducing Prompted, a new magazine written by you!

🏆 Featuring 12 prize-winning stories from our community. Download it now for FREE.

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The Best New Science Fiction Short Stories

Science fiction. The term often conjures up images of epic space battles, time travel hijinks, and daring rescues in rocket ships. And while there certainly are plenty of science fiction short stories like that, the genre offers a level of variety that is, well, out of this world!

Whether they're about a young man who suddenly doubles his IQ or a linguist who encounters an alien species, science fiction stories use extraordinary scenarios to peel back the masks humanity tries to hide behind. They extrapolate the many terrifying and wondrous ways the future could go, all while answering essential questions about humanity. And... they’re thrilling adventures with space lasers and rocketships. 

In short, no subject is too serious or too escapist for this far-reaching genre. From Ray Bradbury to N.K. Jemison and more, science fiction short stories have been an essential part of the literary landscape for decades.

Looking for fresh new science fiction short stories?

Whether you want rip-roaring escapism or a contemplative exploration of humanity, you’ll find a science fiction short story to suit your tastes here. On this page, we’ve gathered the best science fiction short stories from our weekly writing contest. The featured stories, at the top of this page, have either won our contest or been shortlisted, rising above the hundreds of other submissions we receive every week.

Full of promising new writers, this is truly the place to stay up to date on the latest that science fiction short stories have to offer. Who knows, you may just discover an author destined to change the genre landscape forever!

(And if you’re a sci-fi writer, consider heading over and entering the short story contest yourself! You may just walk away with the weekly cash prize — and a shot at publication in Prompted, our new literary magazine!

RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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